The Dark Witch & Luna Queen

Chapter7:

Ezmeralda POV:

I was staring at Jordan wondering how on earth he got this far into our territory without someone seeing him. I mean, we are over three miles from the territory lines now that we adjusted them after the meeting.

“What brought you all the way out here Jordan?” I asked.

“Well, Uncle Ash said he used to play in these woods and I just wanted to see if it was as fun as he said it was.” he revealed and I smiled.

“Did he now? Well how about we get you home.” I grinned. I turned around when I heard the sound of hooves coming towards us.

“Whoa.. you have horses? They are so pretty!” Jordan exclaimed. His little face lit up as he stared at them.

“They will be waiting for us at the territory line.” Talon whispered and I nodded my head. I placed one foot in the stirrup and lifted myself on the saddle. Talon and Malachi helped Jordan get situated in front of me. I looked over to see Mariah was seated on her white stallion as the others climbed up on their mares.

I patted the side of my horse's neck before gently kicking her sides to get her moving.

“This horse is so big. Does it have a name?” Jordan beamed.

“She is a big girl, her name is Delilah and she is a Friesian horse.” I replied. Delilah was solid black, her mane was braided down the side with a green ribbon woven into it along with her tail also being braided with green ribbons intertwined. With her mane, tail, and her coat being black as a dark night sky, Delilah felt and looked as if she was made of the finest silk. The day I got Delilah it was like something inside my soul connected with hers, almost as if we were always meant to be together.

Because of our special bond, I never had to worry about a single thing when I rode her, in a way it was like we were always meant to be with each other. Since witches are so connected to nature, Horses are very calming for us. We use them to get around our lands faster instead of using vehicles. I still don't understand why anyone would destroy nature just to build roads when the Goddess gave us horses, It is not only cheaper but a lot more fun than being inside a vehicle away from nature.

“So…how old are you Jordan?” I asked, trying my best to keep him distracted because the closer we got to the territory line the more he would fidget.

“I’m seven ma’am.” Jordan declared. What a respectful young man, I thought to myself.

“Do you live at the palace with your uncle?” I inquired.

“We do now. My parents wanted me to attend schools here instead of out west, where we are from. But ever since I got here Uncle Ash has always talked about the woods with me, and I guess I just wanted to explore a little bit.” Jordan gulped as his eyes darted around. As we kept trotting along, heading towards the area I knew everyone would wait for us, I wondered why Ash spoke of the woods to Jordan. I mean it was fun for us both, when we were children, but he hasn't been here since. I didn’t think he would really remember it, let alone tell stories about it.

I looked down at Jordan,

“I don’t mind you exploring, just have your Uncle tell me next time. That way we can show you all the fun things there are to do out here.” I smiled.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Jordan asked.

“Well.. We have a swimming hole a few miles into the northern part of the woods. It is quite deep, but has crystal clear water, and there are some small cliffs we like to jump off of, along with a slide that looks like a waterfall. We also built an obstacle course, kid friendly of course, it is for anyone but we mostly built it for our children.” I gushed. I was so proud of our lands and deep down I was so happy to hear that Ash still talks about the childhood memories he made in these woods. As we started getting closer to the border Jordan tilted his head downwards and kept his eyes low as we came to a stop in front of everyone.

“Alpha King Ash, I hope you are well.” I stated. I could feel Jordan trying to make himself look smaller while holding onto Delilah for dear life.

“I am well, even more so now that my nephew has been found safe.” Ash greeted.

“He has been a joy to speak with, a very respectful young man I must say.” I added. Surprise came to all their faces. I climbed down off of Delilah and helped Jordan get down. He wrapped his arms around my leg and I looked down at him.

“I want to make one thing very clear. He has caused no issues, no harm to any of us. When I found him he was behind a tree trying to figure out where he was. He is a sweet child.” I enunciated while looking at all of them.

All of their shoulders relaxed a little bit more.

“Thank you for returning him.” Ash replied.

“Come on Jordan, your mom and dad are waiting.” Ash added.

“I want your word that he won’t be in trouble.” I insisted, taking them by surprise.

“Why does that matter? I’m not his parents.” Ash asked. There was no malice in his tone, more curious than anything else.

“It matters greatly, I do not want Jordan thinking he is not allowed here when the reality is he may come visit and play with the other kids whenever he would like.” I voiced.

“You’d allow him to do that?” Ash mused.

“Of course, he has proven who he is to me. We have a bunch of new activities for children and the woods are a fun place to play.” I chuckled as I winked. Ashs’ eyes widened slightly before his cheeks turned a light shade of red. Did I honestly just make this man blush?

“Well, I have to admit that I am truly surprised. He must have made a good impression.” Ash smirked.

I smiled down at Jordan, “He made a wonderful impression. I still want your word.” I said facing him.

“You have my word Queen Ezmeralda, I will speak to his parents and let them know what you said.” Alpha Ash agreed. I looked down at Jordan and smiled.

“I hope to see you again, little one. It’s time to go now though..” I whispered, my words trailed off when a horrible stench hit my nose. My horse, Delilah started stomping the ground under her hooves and pacing around. I grabbed the reins to hold her still when I heard a low growl coming from directly in front of us.